Can you boot from USB DVD drive on ASUS MOBO?

[Ben78]

I am building my first rig and I am getting an ASUS mobo, and it would be nice not to have to shell out another 25 bucks on a dvd drive I am only going to use once... I already have a SATA laptop DVD optical drive that I took out of my MacBook and replaced with a second HDD. That drive is in an USB enclosure. Will I be able to boot via USB and install Windows 7? Or would I be able to boot off a Windows 7 flash drive? Any help is greatly appreciated!
This is the mobo I am going to be using...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131873

[zburns]

You pose an interesting problem, dilemma, etc.. How old is the DVD optical drive and would you have a mfg name and part #. ? And what is the brand and model # of the flash drive.

EDIT comments: You need a high degree of reproducibility. The question is whether an older DVD drive is as dependable as a new Opt drive or a new HD. Same question on the flash drive. Is the flash drive as dependable as a HD (when loading an entire OS on it) -- that is the question as I see it!!

[RickyTick]

Sure, you can boot Windows from a USB.
http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows7/Start-your-computer-from-a-Windows-7-installation-disc-or-USB-flash-drive
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool
Its works for Win 8 also.
http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/create-a-bootable-usb-flash-drive-for-windows-8-installation/6386574

[Ben78]

You pose an interesting problem, dilemma, etc.. How old is the DVD optical drive and would you have a mfg name and part #. ? And what is the brand and model # of the flash drive.

EDIT comments: You need a high degree of reproducibility. The question is whether an older DVD drive is as dependable as a new Opt drive or a new HD. Same question on the flash drive. Is the flash drive as dependable as a HD (when loading an entire OS on it) -- that is the question as I see it!!

The optical drive is from a late 2011 MacBook Pro... Other than that there is no way of knowing what manufacturer or part number it is. I have several flash drives I can use.. I have four or five 4gb PNY flash drives, a 8gb PNY flash drive, and a 8gb SanDisk flash drive.

I was actually just thinking that I could take the optical drive out of the SATA enclosure, plug it in the SATA connector that comes with the MOBO, and install Windows like that, then just unplug it and close the case back up. Because I only need a DVD drive to install Windows. All my other games I can download on Origin or Steam.

[zburns]

How do you know the macbook drive is 'flawless' in performance. I would spend the $ 25 for a new unit and be certain! (even this is a relative comment; a new unit should perform perfectly)

[Ben78]

Well, I mean it has always been flawless performance wise, inside and outside of the MacBook Pro (in the USB enclosure.) and I would only ever need it once.. That is unless I can boot via USB flash drive.

[RickyTick]

$18 with free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

[zburns]

What is the Gb capacity of the Flash Drive you plan to use? According to what I read about Win 8, it is a 20 Gb download. Look at this URL, from a Microsoft site, for system requirements: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbpage.Windows_8_Pro?WT.term=windows+8+download&WT.mc_id=pointitsem_Microsoft+US_google_5+-+Windows+8&WT.medium=cpc&WT.campaign=5+-+Windows+8&WT.srch=1&WT.content=M7A1weU6&WT.source=google&cshift_ck=B55FC05A-D97C-4024-A0AE-894581B86708csM7A1weU6

Also, see this URL from a non- Microsoft site: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2011906/how-to-optimize-windows-8-on-old-hardware.html Third para: 'Disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)' Note 20 GB storage, therefore, 20 gig download req for 64 bit. I assume this means 'download from the Microsoft Win 8 disc'.

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Your comment from your last post:
Well, I mean it has always been flawless performance wise,

My comment: You have 'no way to determine or confirm the download condition of the data when using your old 'optical drive'. You want to be able to 'totally' trust the download in case you have problems caused by 'other than the download'. You do not want the 'download' to be a factor in 'why something is or may be wrong with the new build'. You want the end result QC (quality control) wise to be 100 % Zero Defects in the new build. This is the correct procedure in building anything from a 'zero start point'!!!

[RickyTick]

I'm fairly sure that all you're downloading is an iso file that's probably somewhere around 4gb of compressed files.